Canadian Labour and Manufacturers Say Bank of Canada Must Reduce Interest Rate

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 3, 2007) - The Canadian Labour Congress and Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters today jointly called for an interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada tomorrow. They agreed that a lower rate would help take speculative pressure off the dollar and is justified by a slowing economy.

Canadian Labour Congress President Ken Georgetti said that, "A dollar that remains at or near parity poses too great an adjustment challenge for Canadian manufacturing industries and will cause further large losses of jobs, production and exports moving forward. We have recently seen accelerating job losses, and a major worsening of the manufacturing trade deficit."

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters President Jayson Myers said, "The recent surge in the dollar means that exports, manufacturing output and the Canadian economy will slow significantly over the next eight months with little threat of inflation. The Bank of Canada has to look ahead rather than in the rear-view mirror."

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and the Canadian Labour Congress have both made recent presentations on the impact of the high dollar to the House of Commons Finance Committee.

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada's national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 136 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca